This years video!

See our team blog for more info or the photo blog for pictures!

Navidad all over Bolivia

If you're looking for different ways to share this Christmas I want to share a few that I think are worthwhile:

1. Navidad en Bolivia. This is a program we started a few years back to help an after school support with at risk students. They majority come from indigenous backgrounds and have parents that hardly speak Spanish.  They struggle in school and a few friends of mine from the States, Canada and Bolivia dedicate themselves every afternoon to helping catch them up as well as teach them about the Lord. Here's a sample screenshot of the site-you have got to check out this artwork!  For $16 you can provide a Christmas gift for one of these talented children.

2.  Sponsor (part of) a team! We are taking a trip back out to Potosí!  Lord willing we will have a team comprised mostly of Bolivians, with potentially a few from the USA (including my sister(s) and a friend!).  We appreciate your prayers, and if you are interested in sponsoring one of these young people with a heart to serve in the mountains for a week of their Christmas break, you will be a part of blessing their lives as well as the kiddos and families we will get the opportunities to meet.  Here's the team site that includes some info about what we do and the teams we've had in the past (including some of their experiences).

3.  Donate items.  Resources for activities to do with the kiddos. (Last year we took a Parachute that was donated to the clown that went with us that year) and the kids LOVED it!  Other good practical gifts are: small toys, pencils, coloring books, toothbrushes, toothpaste, mittens, socks, lotion, etc. I also recently saw some Child Evangelism Fellowship picture books that make the stories more vivid for the kiddos.  A lot of these things we can buy here (Except the books and parachute, I think), so let me know if you prefer to send money and we can buy it here to save from the hassle of shipping etc.  I'll be happy to send pictures back to you! :)

9 favorites about Bolivia!

1.  Coffee/tea time.  Especially when I'm with the Vargas or Spies families!  We sit around and sip our hot beverages and talk about all sorts of interesting things.

2. Lots of walking.  We take lots of public transportation and it's a great way to figure out the city, observe the people I live around, and not worry about the traffic.
3. Licuados.  This is like a light milkshake.  Fresh fruit, a little bit of sugar and either water or milk (that's milk in the bag). My favorite is strawberry or banana.  Try it sometime!

4. Tiendas.  No matter where you are there is a tiny corner store less than 5 minute walk away.  They have all the necessities (toilet paper, bread, milk, butter, and tons of other things).  And the prices are similar to the bigger stores!
5. Fresh fruit and vegetables.  There are amazing produce stands and for pretty inexpensive.  The flavor is so much better and fresher!
6. My garden!  Talk about seeing the fruit (Or vegetables in this case) of your labor!  So many good analogies too--The importance of weeding, watering, cultivating, etc.  Someday it will be grown enough to be impressive enough for a photo-I hope!
7. Learning Quechua!  Miss Ely is teaching me and we started this morning. This will be challenging, but right now it's fun!
8.  Playing sports.  Fortunately so far, I've been living in environments where there were enough people for teams.  I hope my skills are improving, but either way it's a fun time and a good way to get to know people a little better.
9. Speaking Spanish.  I quickly realized how much more I have to learn, although I think I will always feel a little bit like that...for now I want to brush up.  The goal is to not immediately be identified as a foreigner.

Random thoughts from a sleepless night

1. Trust God no matter what.  Because after all, His goodness isn’t dependent on our circumstances.  I’ve been reminded over and over for the past few weeks that God calls us down paths we never would have chosen for ourselves.  No one would choose death, injury, sickness, conflict, loneliness, war, abuse, disaster, etc. But that’s part of living in a fallen world, and the presence of God doesn’t mean the absence of these things.  The presence of God means we don’t walk these roads alone.  He’s the one we cling to, because He’s the one who cares about our hurts, He wants us to come to Him, trust Him and find our strength in the One who gives us breath every morning. 
2. If He cares about the lesser, of course He cares about the greater.  I was provided some things from my hopeful list--you know not necessities, just desires.  A lamp, a rug, a mirror, etc.  Through some thoughtful friends I was loaned some things--the things from my list-they had no idea what I was praying for. My friend was provided a job, in a really cool way.  It was a cool reminder that God’s got this.  My life looks really different than I thought it would, but I can be confident that He knows what’s best and will get me right where He wants me.
3. Give thanks. Always. I’ve been reading in Psalms and David is always giving thanks and telling the people to give thanks.  He can be in the middle of a war, betrayal by a friend, mourning the death of a loved one and He still gives thanks. And I should to.  I have plenty to be thankful for. 
4. It will be worth it all when we see Jesus.  Everything.  Sometimes I have to remind myself of the big picture, and remember that anything I “suffer” here, is a small thing compared to the glory of seeing my Savior face to face. “If Christ be God and died for me then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.” -C.T. Studd.  These are my adorable grandparents.  They've been through some really crazy stuff too, this is where I found them one day this summer.  Singing from the hymnal, "It will be worth it all when we see JesusO".  Timely reminder from some who have experienced-and are experiencing-some significant changes that have caused them to lean hard on God.  
   
   
   
   
   
   Ok, I think that's it for me...I'm off to sleep. Buenas noches.

Lessons learned while hiking the treacherous mountains of Huay'ku Mayu at sunset

Last Thursday is the day I arrived in Cochabamba.  I cannot believe I LIVE in Bolivia now.  It's been a hectic two weeks filled with visa paperwork, a trip to Potosi, and a few work projects and visits.  It's been fantastic!

Potosi felt longer than usual because we visited fewer communities and spent more time in each, and we took more day hikes than usual.  Abby and I talked about all the analogies/lessons we learned from our afternoon-late evening hike to see a woman sick with bronchitis and her grandbaby sick with an infection.  This is what we came up with:
1. Sometimes you have the luxury of stopping to take a break---and sometimes you don't.
2. Sometimes you can't see the bigger picture and just must keep taking baby steps-one foot at a time.
3. There is great value and peace in having an experienced and trustworthy guide.
4. Sometimes you CAN see the bigger picture-and when you can, you should soak it in and then remember it when you can't see the end goal.
5. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger".
We were thankful for hermano Vicente who led the way.  He is a single man who walks all around the community to visit people there because he believes it is so important that they hear the message of love and hope of God's word. (He also provided us with fresh mandarins from his Shakira shoulder bag).  Overall though, I loved the hikes! It's a great opportunity to take in the scenery, and seeing the homes of the people and meeting the older generations provides a more realistic look into normal every day life there.

8 Things I Forgot.

I just got back to Bolivia yesterday for the 8th time.  Yes, that’s right.  And it turns out that the combination of my lack of observance and selective memories have meant lots of good, funny, and embarrassing experiences already!

Here’s a 8 of the things that I have forgotten.

1. That Cochabamba Bolivia does actually get cold!  I always would say that Cochabamba is about 70 degrees every day, the winter just means it’s a little cooler at night.  Well, it’s a lot cooler at night.  When I landed in La Paz to 40 degree weather I remembered at one point when I lived in Cochabamba when I had EIGHT blankets on my bed-and used all of them at once!
2. How friendly people are here.  I knew it was cultural to greet friends and acquaintances, but I forgot that it was cultural to greet complete strangers too! Walking down the street, getting into a trufi (public transportation mini-van), in places of business, etc.
3. You need your passport for all visa application meetings.  (*that was the embarrassing one).
4. I need a pillow and vest/jacket with a hood to sleep on planes.  (Hence the one hour of sleep). All of a sudden I’ve become some sort of rookie traveller!  
5. How pretty Bolivian Spanish is!
6. How much we walk!  I thought that not running=no exercise.  Boy was I wrong!  Not having a car means you must walk to catch the bus or trufi that happens to go where you need to go.   
7. That plans will change at least 10X in one day.  Flexibility is so necessary to live as a sane person.  You decide to laugh or cry. 
8. That I don’t look like everyone else here!  (Sometimes I forget and think that I really look hispanic, or sound bolivian...but I quickly am reminded by my accent or a mirror, or others’ responses that I don’t).  But I still pretend...

I'm sure there will be many more in the days, weeks, months and years ahead.  And I know I have so many new things to learn and I can't wait!  

Last days in the USA...for now!

And they included:
A roadtrip with stops in North Carolina to meet cousins and Georgia to meet my cousin's baby.

 

Welcoming Bekah back to the USA!

A wedding for another cousin, also in Georgia.

Relaxing with friends...also in Georgia.

Visiting family in Houston.
Meeting my newest (TINY) foster-nephew.
Celebrating Independence Day with my family and friends.
Tubing down the Comal river with siblings, friends and my oldest niece-it's so fun that she's old enough to go do stuff with us now-and enjoy it!
Celebrating Grandma's birthday, and Her & Grandpa's anniversary. Sweet examples of unconditional love.

Reunion with college friends!

Visiting my friends from work-they've changed me forever!
Lots of eating, running, sleeping, packing, laughing, playing, crying, etc.  I'm so thankful to all of you who have chosen to be a part of this journey with me--and have allowed me to be a part of your journeys with God, your families, and careers too.  It's quite a ride, and I can't imagine doing what I do, without the joy, peace and hope that God gives so generously.

In case you wonder what's next:
I will fly to Bolivia tomorrow.  I will do paperwork for my one year visa which will take a couple of weeks, and a few hundred bolivianos.  Then I will go with a team of about 6 or so people to Potosi.  There we will have a kids camp--sort of like intense VBS.  Then when I get back to the city hopefully my visa stuff will be almost done and I will head to ETNOS in Santa Cruz where I will jump back into classes for literacy, teaching, medical training, translation, learning language and culture, rugged living skills, etc.  Other than that, I'm starting from scratch.  I know that the facilities are a little more rugged than in Missouri, and I know I will have some chores to keep up the grounds, and will find some friends and a church there (*soon, I hope!).

The hardest thing is saying goodbye-because even as confident as I am that I am going where God is leading me, I will MISS people here like crazy, especially my familia, friends who have become like family, and the little ones who hopefully will not forget me while I'm gone.
 This is my second niece.  She and her sister's said they won't grow up while I'm gone.  The oldest suggested putting something really heavy on her head-to which they all agreed! ;)

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